FROM FAITH TO BLESSINGS

This graphic, posted on an internet Atheism community, certainly states an opinion very strongly. But exactly what is the creator of this meme raving about?

Wikipedia defines faith as “confidence or trust in a person, thing, deity or in the doctrines or teachings of a religion or view (e.g. having strong political faith). The word faith is often used as a synonym for hope, trust or belief.”

Does this sound like something worth throwing your time and energy into opposing? It certainly doesn’t to me.

But what about being gullible, having an absence of reason, etc.? Well consider this: I decided to follow Jesus of Nazareth — who many people believe is the divine son of God — at age 42, after reading many books from variety of perspectives, thinking long and hard about what I believed in and why, and having challenging conversations with several Jesus followers.

But if you are to believe everything in this graphic, then after all my deliberation, I made a choice to become gullible. I decided to throw away reason. Become dishonest and blind myself (to what, I’m not sure).

Are you really buying this?

I can imagine some opponents of faith saying it’s what people of faith do that’s so wrong, especially when they use their faith to back up their actions.

On this point, we absolutely agree. There’s nothing more wrong than blowing up a skyscraper, denying rights to women or bombing abortion clinics in the name of faith. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

That said, here’s a question for you: should all faith be detested because of the crazed actions of a fanatical few? I know how many atheist people would answer, but what about YOU?

Like it or not, it seems to me, faith is mixed into the fabric of our lives.

We place our faith in doctors without knowing if (or how often) they’ve been sued for malpractice.

We go on airplane trips, trusting in mechanics and safety inspectors (who are every bit as imperfect as you and me) to ensure the plane is safe.

We drive our vehicles over bridges every day, placing our faith in nothing more than steel, concrete and rebar, plus annual government inspections.

So, if you really want to detest faith, then you better not leave the house again. In fact, maybe you shouldn’t even live in a house. Despite all the building codes designed to ensure it was built to last, who knows when it could fall in on you?

My faith in Jesus means that without seeing Him, I know that He lived, died and came back to life – all for the benefit of people who believe in Him and trust Him with their lives.

Does this sound crazy? Jesus addresses that very question when, after his resurrection, he permitted a follower named Thomas to touch the wounds of his crucifixion.

“So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes,” Jesus told “doubting” Thomas. “Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”

Do you want those blessings? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

14 Responses

Count me in on wanting those blessings only God can give. Sadly, the commentary from the atheist website just oozes with anger and insult. The very ones who need God the most are the ones who deny Him the loudest.
Very thoughtful post, Frank!
Blessings!

Faith in itself is not the absence of reason; to the contrary, CS Lewis said that faith is the ability to hold to that which your reason once accepted in changing circumstances. This is reflected more recently in Mumford and Son’s “Hold on to What You Believe”, and I fully agree.

That being said, it is true also that faith in itself is not a virtue, as it can be misplaced. Faith is holding in to something, and that can be good or bad.

You love that word, “bitter”, don’t you? It seems to be your standard ad hominem.

As for Martha’s comment that the graphic “oozes with anger and insult”, I pass by much worse examples on Church signboards every single day.

So lets get past the tone of the graphic and examine its content, along with your reaction to it….

You conveniently left out the citation from Wikipedia that support the thesis of the graphic:
“proponents of faith argue that the proper domain of faith concerns questions which cannot be settled by evidence.”

Not to mention the dictionary definition of Faith:
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

These definitions coincide with the concept of Faith in the Bible: “Blessed are those who have seen, and believed, but more blessed are those who have not seen, and believed.”

And I have explained to you before the difference between “Faith” (belief without evidence) and “Confidence” (belief with evidence). So your assertion that we put our “faith” in doctors is a common misuse of the term. We put our confidence in doctors. We put our confidence in planes and pilots. We put our confidence in bridges. We do this because we have abundant evidence that such confidence is appropriate, and we make calculated risks for our uncertainty.

Faith is “belief without evidence”.

Now, if you want to take issue with the statement that “Faith is not a virtue”, then you can make an argument that belief without evidence is virtuous. But the rest of the graphic’s assertions are correct.

I’m very sad to write that I use “bitter” because that’s what I so, so often see and read on atheist Internet communities.
I’m sure you pass by nasty church billboards. But that’s not even close to the point. And deflecting (the tried and true technique used by politicians) doesn’t wash with me.
As for faith with confidence, etc., in my opinion, you’re splitting hairs to justify your viewpoint.

It is not splitting hairs to define faith as belief without evidence, and confidence as belief with evidence. To not differentiate the two, or, as you seem to be doing, to intentionally conflate the two, is equivocation. This is not a matter of opinion, but one of definition.
I make just one simple request of you Frank, and that is to stop equating faith if confidence. Have the courage of your convictions to define faith according to the accepted definition, and the in accordance with your own chosen religious dogma.
Please stop claiming that people have “faith” in science, or engineering, or medicine. Ironically, this cheapens whatever value you hold in your own beliefs.

Great article! The Bible declares that every person has been given a measure of faith. We can choose to build on it, or let it wither and die. If we let our faith in God die, then we find a replacement: our career, our favourite sports team, clubbing and parties, pornography, etc. I’m so thankful that Jesus chose to reach out to me personally through His Word and give me enough proof that I didn’t have to rely on “blind” faith!

Glad you are enjoying your life. So am I. I prefer not to decide for myself what is good and right in the world. When people have that, the result can very often be not so good (avoiding paying taxes, cheating on your spouse) to horrific (the 1994 Rwandan massacre).

Well, the same awful things (and worse) occur when we believe that the supreme power of the universe agrees with our personal desires. I think we all have a responsibility to examine our morality. I think that your choice to avoid this responsibility, letting others tell you what is right and wrong, is what leads to evil. You can see this throughout history. Few of the world’s great evils would have occurred had it not been for people blindly following the directive of others. It matters not whether the directive came from authoritarian leaders, or vested clergy, or the inscrutable writing of bronze age sheep herders.

I would never claim that atheism is, by default, a moral worldview. That is because (as I have explained before), atheism is not a worldview (neither is theism). Secular Humanism is a worldview, and I do not think you will find many atrocities committed by secular humanists.

Among “worldviews”, Secular Humanism has the best record.

Regardless, I can assure you from personal experience, that my abandonment of faith did not lead to tax fraud, infidelity, or genocide. I donate blood, volunteer in my community, help others when in need, and give up my seat to old people on public transportation.

Good for you. I can assure you from personal experience that my embracing of faith led to better behaviour, a more generous spirit and increased charitable giving. But no way will I ever give up my seat to older folks on buses. LOL! 🙂

Lack of faith only proved destructive in my life prior to rebirth. Being a complete intellectual who relied on fact and research, I failed trusting anyone… Everything was iimperfect. Everyone was to fail me. Nothing lasted. Even my most important accomplishmen. My marriage. But with faith in the Word, I find freedom to understand and live as meant to… FAITH EMPOWERS WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE IT BELONGS. THE GOSPEL. .. then all else follows.